Announcing the Top 50 Cloud Accountants of 2014 (North America)

At Hubdoc, we’re lucky to work in the exciting and evolving space that is cloud accounting. In this past year (we only joined the ranks in March 2014!), we’ve met many bright and inspiring people who are part of the crusade to bring the cloud to small businesses everywhere.

As part of our way of giving back to this great community, we’ve created this list of the top cloud accountants in North America. Let’s jump in…

Keith and his team at Bookkeeping Express are awesome. With offices across the United States, they’re helping hundreds of businesses experience the benefits of the cloud. They’ve done this through standardizing with specific accounting software to make their practice and operations as efficient and profitable as possible while maintaining an excellent level of customer service. Kudos Keith and the entire BKE team!

Although Bruce never completed theIce Bucket Challenge, his dedication to cloud accounting and bringing accountants into the future is something to shout about. He’s travelling across the the continental United States explaining the virtues of the cloud and teaching practitioners how they can build a successful practice in the cloud.

Steve Chaney is similarly a force to be reckoned with in the cloud accounting arena. He’s quickly built a sizable practice with a relatively low headcount and is clearly passionate about helping the world move past the dark days of desktop accounting software. It’s no wonder he was named ‘Xero Accounting Partner of the Year’ in 2013.

We met Nick and Bradley in August and were blown away by their savvy. They’ve nailed their workflow with the right teams in place for excellent client management and have leveraged Salesforce in new and unique ways to drive efficiency. We have no doubt that it’s only a matter of time before the spotlight will shine directly on these rising stars.

If there ever were two individuals that personified the meaning of ‘influencers’ in the cloud accounting world, it would be the Catching Clouds team. From their articles (Scott’s & Patti’s) on the Sleeter Blog, you can see the depth of their thinking on the space and that they truly live what they preach at their firm, Catching Clouds. We’ve gotten to know Scott and Patti over the past year and we’ve seen first hand the impact they’ve had on the cloud community. Here’s to them!

The big kahunas of the Canadian Cloud Accounting landscape, Chad & Josh have built an amazing cloud practice and have done it their way! Generous with their time and consistently helping fellow cloud practitioners with tips and advice. Great guys, great cloud accountants.

Doubling down on a technology stack has a compounding effect not only in terms of workflow efficiency, but also distribution. There’s value in being seen as a solution expert. Laura understands that and leads QBOPro. They know QuickBooks Online inside and out – so much so that Laura authors Intuit’s official QuickBooks Online Certification training and exams for accountants. If you want to “Go QBO”, contact Laura!

Jason “gets it”. His team knows that leveraging the cloud enables their clients to focus on what matters – as they so eloquently put it, “it’s people you love, time spent, what you give & the legacy you leave”. We love that focus.

Cam and Palu are among the most design and brand savvy cloud practitioners we’ve had the pleasure of meeting. From their beautifully designed website to their jedi-like focus on building a seamless, product-like bookkeeping service, they’re an impressive duo. Looking at their presentation and approach, it’s easy to see the level of thought put into each component and it fills you with confidence that when Keep is pouring over your transactions, they’re going to do it well, and with style.

With probably the funniest pricing page of anyone on this list, Marvin has created an organization to help on the off-chance you’re self-conscious about your figures ;-). In all seriousness, Marvin clearly knows the power of focusing on an industry vertical. He’s achieved Xero Gold status and is nailing the healthcare segment.

Matt and his team at SUM Innovation are pioneers in providing affordable bookkeeping services focused on the small business market. They’ve been doing it since 2001. And, they have excellent taste in content ;).

Named “Xero Bookkeeping Partner of the Year” in 2013, Nick gets what it takes to win in the cloud accounting space and knows how to leverage the tools around him to deliver a great product to his clients, hyper-efficiently. One of the nicest guys you’ll meet too!

‘Cloud’ isn’t just in their name. They use solely cloud solutions and are a Xero Platinum Partner to boot. Cloudsourced Accounting is one of the good guys in the crusade to move small businesses onto the cloud; they’re there to help other accountants as well as clients.

While we’re fans of any firm where the two founders have the same name (the two Jamies from Hubdoc say hello!), the Ryans truly understand the pain accountants and bookkeepers experience exchanging documents with their clients and know that that the cloud is here to help. They care about this problem so much, they created Sqrl.

Cathy and her team runs QBO Chat every Thursday, an incredibly valuable weekly gathering online of cloud accountants. A great contribution to the cloud accounting community, it’s a must-attend session each week for any accountant embracing the cloud This itself is worthy of a spot on this list! Then, of course, there’s Cathy’s cloud accounting practice!

Cristina isn’t just brilliant at creating puns. She’s built a service her clients love – they compare her to a Lamborghini (in the accounting world of course!) and a ‘fire-and-forget weapon’ (is there a greater compliment for a cloud accountant?).

Bill is a pioneer in the virtual accounting world. He founded AccountingDepartment.com in 2004, when there wasn’t a precedent or playbook for how to build a cloud accounting practice. Hearing Bill speak, you can tell he cares deeply about his clients’ success and ensures there’s the workflow and process in place to deliver top tier service.

Connie’s practice is an under the radar superstar. She clearly gets what it takes to scale and move into the cloud. We’ve seen her move into the cloud with passion and conviction. No better characteristics for a cloud accountant.

The LBA Group recently gave Shelly an amazing mandate to lead the Business Accounting Solutions Services side of their business and she’s jumped in with both feet! She knows that the cloud is the future and that implementing strong workflow with clients is the foundation of her business. She hasn’t hesitated and is the driving force behind cloud solutions being leveraged by her team of 14 Accounting Associates and Specialists.

Bryan is crushing it with his firm AccountSource. Their accounting services seem as clean as their beautifully designed website. They offer a wide range of services and are a Xero Gold Partner to boot!

Jody has a special place in the cloud accounting community. She’s an early adopter and the definition of a social accountant. We love what she’s doing at New Vision CPA and wish her the best of success in 2015. PS: Jody hosts Las Vegas pool parties and writes books too!

Lior and Mike were one of the first cloud accountants in Canada. They’ve taken an unorthodox approach to building their practice, drafting behind LiveCA, but have nailed their distribution, and are a Xero Silver Partner.

Cindy has been helping small business owners clean up their books for over twenty years and is rumoured to have once met Skeeter Sleeter (the puppet). She’s on our top list for her commitment to the cloud.

Aaron Eisendrath and his brand of Human services provides interdisciplinary and solid service options if you want flexibility in your accounting package. Aaron and his team of excellent accountants and bookkeepers will work with you to find a solution that’s a great fit for you and works the way you want to.

Achieving Xero Gold Partner status is no easy feat, and Jill and her team at HTH Consultants have done it with style and zeal. HTH-TV is case in point. They’re great at injecting fun into accounting and bookkeeping and providing an excellent service at the same time.owners experience everyday (and how they can help make it better).

2014 was the year Ryan built himself out as a thought leader in the tech scene for accounting advice. He’s a great writer and has created a strong presence, with his writing being featured in publications such as Techvibes. Did we mention that Ryan accepts bitcoin as a form of payment for accounting services?!

Gary and Heather are excellent partners in… accounting. With Heather leading the way on operations and Gary leading the accounting side, they are excellent partners in… cloud accounting. They’re moving swiftly towards the cloud and see benefits of driving efficiency, not only for the profitability of their practice, but because it enhances the quality of service for their clients.

The real “Big Kahuna”. Love their style, their branding and their focus on a specific vertical (law firms). Their accounting arm is one part of their business and is a clear signal of the potential and power they see in the cloud accounting space. It is a once in a generation change.

We’ve been following Marilyn for a while and are impressed by her savvy. She not only knows the power of technology to drive efficiencies in her practice, but also to generate leads. Case in point, sign up for the 7 No-Fail Financial Strategies eBook available on her website.

As a service provider, there is no better evidence of the value you provide than the number of customer referrals you receive. Richard and his team are a great example of that – 80% of their clients come from referrals. Their clients love them and their coverage is phenomenal; they’re live in 41 states across the U.S.

Adam knows the importance of doubling down on what you’re good at. He’s built a team of expert bookkeepers based in Knoxville, Tennessee. They’re doing an excellent job of finding efficiencies across the cloud, and have started to verticalize, focusing on churches, IT companies, restaurants and dentists.

Patrick’s life goal is to help you take advantage of the financial clarity the cloud brings, and will help you find new ways to drive value and generate wealth for you. He’s dedicated to helping you build the business of your dreams. For that, we salute him!

Who doesn’t love an accounting firm that has a diagram of their workflow right on their website. Leslie and her team know the key to successfully partnering with business owners, being an advisor to help them grow their business. After all, they’ve grown their business substantially over the last few years!

A confessed ‘Appaholic’, naturally, we first met Kaydee at the QB Connect Hackathon! She gets the power of both QuickBooks Online and Xero and how they streamline and automate bookkeeping for businesses.

Dustin is an epic CPA. He’s driving towards the cloud as quickly as he can and knows how to build efficiencies in his practice. He is a technology expert and is as good as anyone at helping people convert to paperless and from desktop accounting software to the cloud.

Christine’s dedication to educating her team with the latest in tools and knowledge shows in her levels of service. Super savvy – she’s yet another who’s standardized on an accounting platform to drive efficiencies and take her practice to the next level.

Similar to Donovan & Limroth, TeamWorks has been around for over 20 years. Carol and her team have been quick to move with the times, already achieving Xero Gold status and are aggressively pursuing the benefits of the cloud, leveraging Thumbtack, Xero and other cloud listing services to drive client acquisition.

David is one of the most influential on social media out of all the users on this list. His Bay Business Group Twitter account has over 21,000 followers. This is an achievement on its own and that’s ignoring his numerous achievements in the cloud accounting space.

Perched at his Wall Street office, David is a CFO-for-hire to many organizations. He left behind legacy systems years ago and is leveraging a combination of cloud services and outsourcing to deliver great solutions to his clients.

Jason is on the list for several reasons. He started the Thriveal CPA Network, he’s a thought leader on all things cloud accounting, and he runs Blumer CPAs, a firm dedicated to serving creatives. He’s also an accountant with a sense of humour. If you know Jason, you know what we mean!

Holly is a rockstar, who’s quietly scaling a sizable and impressive accounting practice. Embracing the cloud and efficiencies is a focus for Holly and her team. They’re also great contributors of accounting content on their blog and Twitter. A firm certainly to watch as the trend to cloud accounting continues to grow.

Peter is one of the leading cloud accountants in California. He’s passionate about leveraging the best solutions possible and connecting tools together to build a cohesive end-to-end (and top quality) accounting experience for his clients. So exciting! Their site refers to their firm as a 21st Century CPA firm. Indeed!

Eric and his team know that it’s all about the data. Their goal is to make sure that data is accurate, clean and reconciled daily in the cloud. They live the dream of a paperless back-office everyday with their clients. They have big plans to scale with a thoughtful approach how to do it!

You have to give it up for Canadian cloud accountants leading the way! Carol-Ann is one of a kind and we love her attitude towards the cloud. She also creates excellent training manuals for small and medium businesses (and their advisors!) looking to better educate themselves with cloud accounting.

William has taken a different tact with clients. He leverages the power of the cloud and combines it with building strong relationships with his clients. At Slade & Co., they’re all about personal service and helping you achieve financial success.